Less than one in 10 patients that would benefit from obesity jabs like Wegovy can access them, warns the global health agency as it releases its first advice on the therapies.
Given in excess of 1,000,000,000 people worldwide currently classified as obese, it is calling for more widespread and fairer access to GLP-1 medication.
According to estimates, over two billion could be living with obesity by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The latest guidelines acknowledges that obesity is a long-term condition that can be treated with thorough and lifelong support," stated the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, limited production capacity, and logistical bottlenecks are major obstacles to broad availability to the jabs that can help people shift substantial weight, notes the organization.
Skinny Jab Supply Crisis
Despite the present most favorable case, the manufacturing of GLP-1 therapies might only reach approximately 100 million people – less than 10% of eligible patients, per the WHO.
The advice urges nations and manufacturers to expand access, through approaches including voluntary licensing.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the primary ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is scheduled to end in multiple nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Injections Operate
GLP-1 drugs imitate a body's own hormone to delay gastric emptying, reduce hunger and boost satiety so users reduce food intake.
People commonly start to lose weight after several weeks of beginning the weekly injections.
Research points to people may see weight return a year later of halting the medication, when their normal appetite resume.
Being carrying excess weight raises your likelihood for developing medical conditions, like diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and specific malignancies.
Obesity affects individuals in countries worldwide and was associated with over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
